 |
 By
Adam Pawlus
Photography by Michael
Sullenger
(SAN DIEGO, CA, July 18, 2003)
STAR
WARS: THE CLONE WARS
The
premiere of what's sure to be the event of the season, which is
saying quite a bit considering the deluge of non-toy Star Wars
releases this year, was a roaring success. The brief three-minute
episode more or less set up the full story for what was to come
in the 20 three-minute shorts starting this November 7. Ten episodes
will air in November, 10 more will air in February... a DVD release
is expected but not confirmed, and Star Wars' Hyperspace
portal will be showing them online this Fall.
The episode itself was a work-in-progress, with temporary John
Williams music, no sound effects, and what seems to be final
dialogue. With the exception of Anthony Daniels as C-3PO,
no actors from the films will be providing their voices. Cartoon
Guru Genndy Tartakovsky said that he was prepared to make
the shorts silent after finding out that he couldn't get the original
actors, but after hearing the voice talent for Clone Wars, he
changed his mind. After watching the show, it seems he has chosen
wisely, as the characters, especially Yoda, sounded great.
In terms of animation, it seems to be on par with the likes of
Samurai Jack, with the addition of some 3D CGI elements. The unique
look of the spacecraft in Futurama appears here, with the airborne
weapons being rendered in a different way than the 2D land vehicles.
There's a definite difference in style here, but nothing fans
of Futurama aren't used to seeing.
While there was much said in the 90 minutes for this panel, most
of it seemed to be surrounding the facts that this series of shorts
is one of the best things
coming to TV for Star Wars fans this year, and that they are aware
of just how cool it is. The producers made it painfully apparent
that they wanted
to do longer shows, but LucasFilm wanted shorter shows--
originally, they claim Lucas offered them the chance to do one-minute
shorts. They also said to make sure that if you really, really
want a longer show, make LucasFilm know. Apparently they really
want to do a full-length show, and after seeing thisshort,
it might not be such a bad idea to let them. After all,
they did give Kit Fisto an episode where he fights under water...
and they did design an original vehicle for the cartoons. These
are people who really do seem to have a firm grasp on the look
and feel of Star Wars.
LUCASFILM
Real details on Episode III were scarce, but things that
might interest readers were shots of Chewbacca's head,
Anakin's new shaggier look, and a very clear claim that we would
still see things that would shock us in the next film. Obviously,
it was a general statement, but one doesn't know if it's "hey,
Mace
Windu is singing!" shock or "holy crap, Obi-Wan and Vader duke
it out on the unfinished Death Star prototype" type shock.
Regardless, it looks like
they're keen on pleasing fans for the final film, and we're all
looking forward to that.
DARK
HORSE
Numerous new stories are coming, many of which have been confirmed
on the official site or elsewhere. New items include the
return of everybody's favorite
Tusken Raider Jedi, more Biggs stories following
his days leading up to the Battle of Yavin, and an all-Boba
Fett issue of Tales. Surely, something for
everyone.
DEL REY BOOKS
The end of the New Jedi Order and a new book involving
Mara and Luke in the post-ROJ world were on tap, as well as
the possibility that NJO may continue beyond its supposed "conclusion"
this year.
LUCASARTS
A new Sam & Max, lots of questions surrounding Star
Wars Galaxies (the new MMORPG), and a few cryptic hints of things
to come were brought up in a fairly lively Q&A session first
thing in the morning this Star Wars Day.
Galaxies fans were told new classes were on the way,
and new races were as well. While in development, Haden Blackman
did confirm that the top four requests were Falleen, Sullustian,
Ithorian, and-- I believe-- was pronounced "Stass." Steeds and
vehicles are expected in 3-6 months.
A new title in the style of Rebellion is not planned to be in
the works at the present, said Brett Totsi of LucasArts.
The PC edition of Knights of the Old Republic, released
for Xbox this week, is expected this November and no special
PC features have been determined.
Republic Commando, a PC/Xbox game, was previewed via
a very ALIENS-like trailer. The graphics and sound were incredible,
and the trailer does not show actual gameplay. What was shown
revealed a lot of imagination and looks like the kind of thing
fans of the great Clone Armies have been waiting for.
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